Binominal Name: Panthera Pardus

The leopard is a medium-large big cat, found in much of Africa, India, Sri Lanka and parts of China, Russia, Siberia and Arabia. The leopard is characterised by its rosette-like black spots on a golden fur.

They are the most successful of the big cats because of their elusiveness and their ability to adapt to changing habitats. Their typical habitat is woodland, rocky outcrops and river banks with plenty of prey. They are often observed resting in trees during the day and hunting at night.

Mainly nocturnal predators, leopards hunt a wide variety of prey, from Wildebeest to porcupines and sometimes medium to large birds.

An adult leopard lives an almost completely solitary life, only interacting with females to mate. These interactions are often aggressive in nature. The only other time when leopards can be seen together is when a mother has cubs. Cubs will stay with the mother until they are 12-18 months old.

In many areas of the world, the leopard is critically endangered, such as the rare Amur Leopard in Russia now numbering less than 60 individuals.